Looking at the result board glowing under the faint light, honestly, the outco wasn’t all that terrible.
Gabrielle and Rose had nearly the sa number of votes in the end, with Rose barely edging her out by just a few.
"Yes!" Rose practically exploded with excitent, her voice cutting through the heavy air like a whip. It was as if that narrow win was worth everything. "I won! You lost! I’ve got higher votes than you!"
Gabrielle, though, didn’t even bother to look at her. She just kept staring at the numbers on the board, her eyes locked and unmoving with her shoulders tense like they were holding back sothing heavy.
Now that I looked closer, I could see it clear as day... the frustration hiding behind those normally sharp, unshakable eyes. And honestly? I got it.
All the long nights, all the stubborn effort she’d put in, the speeches she’d practiced until she lost her voice... it must’ve felt like it all turned to dust in the end.
The one who actually won was a third-year cadet, also from Gold Class. To be fair, it was still better than seeing the position fall into the hands of soone making empty promises, or worse, soone with that freaky, draconian vision for the academy. The winner seed competent enough, at least.
Still, no matter how much sense it made, watching Gabrielle stand there frozen like that? It stung.
"I’m going back to my dorm now," she finally muttered, her voice flat, cold, but fragile underneath if you really listened.
She turned and walked off, and I just stood there, watching her back fade into the crowd of cadets slowly dispersing around us. I wished I could say sothing to stop her, but nothing ca out.
"Hehehehe..." Rose chuckled beside , her tone dripping with smug satisfaction. She stuck her hands on her hips, her chest puffed out. "I can practically taste the defeat on her! Finally, I beat her at sothing!"
I shot her a sideways look, my brow tightening a bit.
"How about you, Rose? You okay?" I asked, voice low.
"Huh? Why do you ask? I’m perfectly fine," she shot back, her tone breezy and too quick.
But even if she tried to play it cool, sothing about her felt off. Even if all this started as a prank or a joke to ss with Gabrielle, I couldn’t help but think that deep down, Rose had hoped for sothing more, too—and felt a sting of frustration at coming so close yet falling short.
"Now then, shall we get sothing to eat?" she suddenly blurted, almost forcing the words out. "I’m so starving I feel like I could eat a horse!"
I watched her walk ahead, her hair swaying with each step. The bounce in her stride wasn’t as real as she wanted it to look, with even her shoulders looked a bit heavier than usual.
I clenched my fist at my side, thinking for a second, then called out to her.
"Rose."
She paused, glancing back at , a puzzled look crossing her face. "Hm?"
"Let’s go see Gabrielle for a bit."
She raised a brow, confused at first, then threw her head back and laughed, misunderstanding completely.
"Ah! You wanna go rub it in her face, huh? See her loser’s expression up close? Well, let’s do it!" she said, voice practically bubbling with energy.
She sounded way too excited for sothing I didn’t even an. But as long as she followed, that was fine.
Together, we made our way to the Gold Class dormitory. The corridors were oddly quiet, and the faint squeak of our shoes echoed as we walked.
We stopped outside Gabrielle’s room.
I knocked softly on the door. "Gabrielle, are you there?"
Nothing.
I knocked again, a bit louder this ti, my knuckles rapping against the wood. Still nothing. There was no voice as well as no footsteps inside.
She must’ve been feeling so crushed that she couldn’t even bother to answer, or maybe she just didn’t want to see anyone at all.
"It seems like she’s pretty busy..." I mumbled, crossing her arms. "Well, we could just go out on our own, I guess."
Then, without warning, Rose stepped forward, pushing aside like I weighed nothing.
She lifted her foot, her expression turning oddly determined—
"W-Wait! What the hell do you think you’re doing?!" I hissed.
"I’m gonna kick her door in and drag her ass out!" Rose shouted, voice low but fierce.
And then, before I could even blink, her foot smashed into the door.
The wooden door banged open with a loud crack, the hinges groaning under the force.
My mouth dropped open so hard I felt my jaw lock for a second. What the fuck was she thinking, doing sothing like this?
"Huh? W-What?"
Inside, Gabrielle sat frozen on her bed, already changed into her pajamas, her eyes wide in shock.
"W-What did you do to my door?!" she gasped, voice breaking.
"I’m gonna fucking drag your ass out!" Rose barked again, stepping forward like she ant it.
"G-Gabrielle, please..." I jumped in, my voice softer as I reached out and took her hand. "Co with us."
Weirdly enough, she didn’t throw up a barrier or push back. Maybe she’d finally lowered her walls around , or maybe, in so small corner of her heart, she’d been hoping soone would co for her and to pull her out of that frustration before it swallowed her.
Whatever the reason, I held her hand tight, and tugged her forward.
"Let’s go!"
"W-Wait! What about my door?!" she cried, her voice cracking between panic and disbelief.
"We can fix that later!"
"T-There’s no way! The dorm mother’s gonna kill !"
But even with her protests, we got her out of that room, down the hallway, and into the cool night air.
***
Where we ended up wasn’t so fancy place—it was a spot I’d been to more tis than I could count.
"A pub?" Gabrielle muttered, looking around with wide eyes.
"It’s a pub that serves food and alcohol," I explained, trying to sound casual but my heart still pounding from earlier. "Even if you two didn’t win the election, I don’t think that’s a reason not to celebrate. Which is why... we’re gonna smash our brains out tonight!"
"But cadets aren’t allowed to drink," Gabrielle protested softly, her voice unsure.
"It’s fine," I shot back, giving a small grin. "It’s not like we’re really breaking the rules if no one catches us, right? So tonight, we’re ordering mountains of food and drinking till we drop!"
She opened her mouth to argue, but the words caught in her throat. Maybe she realized what we were really doing—for her.
And so, we ordered.
Plates piled high with steaming food ca to our table. The first sip of alcohol felt like fire sliding down my throat, loosening sothing tight in my chest.
Rose kept running her mouth, half-gloating, half-teasing, crumbs spilling as she talked about how she’d finally beaten Gabrielle.
Gabrielle, her face flushed red from just a bit of alcohol, snapped back at her, the two of them bickering louder with every round.
Watching them argue like that, laugh through mouthfuls of food, and forget the election for just a mont... honestly, it made sothing warm flicker deep in my chest.
For the first ti that day, it felt like everything was going to be okay—even if just for tonight.
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